And the Spurs boss said: ‘We’re not a team that you can write off and go, “They’re going nowhere, are they?”

‘Even if you’re one down, we’re always going to make plenty of opportunities and it’s a case of sticking them away. We’ve got a belief in there that we can come from behind.’

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson lost stand-in captain Jamie Carragher with a suspected dislocated shoulder and asked if they would have conceded with Carragher still on the pitch, he added: ‘Maybe we wouldn’t have done but, having said that, we played well enough to put the game to bed.’

Sunday newspaper reports claimed the Blues are lining up Barcelona’s Pep Guardiola to replace Carlo Ancelotti and the Italian’s team did little to dispel the uncertainty with a result that leaves them – after one win in five league games – trailing new leaders Manchester United by two points.

Boss Ancelotti hopes to have John Terry and Frank Lampard back from injury next week, and said: ‘We need that kind of player at our disposal.’